The Irish standard., 1887-01-15
WHAT A SKETCH DID.
q Robbers Capture Effected by q
Bank Clerks Drawing.

a Robbers Capture Effected by q
Bank Clerks Drawing.
The Little Picture Which Established tina
Reputation Of q Now Noted Artist and
Led to the Arrest of shrewd
and Daring Forger.
IN. Y. Letter1
rwo pictures lay on the desk before In.
spector Byrnes, chief Of the detective po-
lice, when called. One was photograph
of a gray-haired and bearded man, who
looked like any thing else than an ideal de-
tective, but whom recognized as George
Elder, member of the force, whose funer-
al Byrnes had attended that day. "He was
9 daring, cool-headed man, and 1t was to
his memory of faces that he was indebted
for his success in many cases." said the
chief "John Livingstone was the son of a
wealthy man who lived in fine place up
the Hudson and had the opportunity to re-
main respectable, but he preferred crooked
ways and got into so much trouble that he
was cast off by this family. For time he
was employed as an express messenger in
New York, and in that capacity he
acquired familiarity with business meth
DDS that he subsequently made use
of in carrying out an audacious piece
of rascality. In July, 1867, Living
stone drove up to the City Bank in
an express wagon drawn by two fine
horses, entered in business-like way, and
presented to the paying g-teller check for
SIS, 600, purporting to be signed by Corne-
lius Vanderbilt and drawn to the order of
Henry Keep. The signatures seemed all
right, and, as the man had often been seen
in the bank while he was actually in the
employ of the express company, no sus-
picior was reused at the size OF the check.
It was common thing for Commodore
Vanderbilt to have large amount Of
money on deposit, and to send for the
whole of it unexpectedly. The teller,
however, never paid large checks without
orders from the cashier, and he passed the
check over to that official. Meanwhile,
Livingstone stepped behind a rail to win
dow behind the cashier, remarking that he
had new horse in his team and was
afraid the animal would not stand. BY
this ruse he got into casual conversation
with the cashier, and then told him he
wanted the money put up in certain way.
The cashier said it would take time to do
that, about half an hour, and Livingstone
said he would go down the street to attend
to some other business and return for the
money Had word been sent to the Com
modore while the fellow was gone, the
scheme would have miscarried, but
Livingstone calmly relied upon the
cashiers acquaintance with the Com
modore's temper to save him from
that danger. Nobody III the bank
cared to take one Of the Co7nmodore's
To- IL oil
right The old man was liable to storm,
and demand whether or not he was good
for the amount or had the money in bank,
and then dismiss the messenger with a vol
lev of unique but forcible profanity. When
the supposed express rnessenger returned
the package of 700 was ready for him.
He carefully examined it to see il it was
all right, chatted with the cashier for a few
minutes, saunterea out, gotupon has wagon
and drove away. It was seven weeks be-
fore the bank officials knew the check was
forged. The signatures were perfectly I'M
itated and would have deceived Wander
bilt himself, but of course the Commodore
knew he had given no such check"
Here Chief Byrnes took up the second OF
the pictures. 1t was a pen-and-ink drawing
of fat fellow in the costume formerly
worn by express messengers.
ssTMs little sketch,'' he said, 'made a
famous artist Of its maker and sent the
subject to State prison. The teller of that
bank was Thomas Worth, now well-knoWn
in the artistic world. He could give no
verbal description by which the thief could
be identified. but he seized his pen and q
piece of paper and in ~ few minutes pro-
duced free sketch of the man. AS soon
as Elder saw it he said: THAT is John
Livingstone, I'll bet my life, and taking
the picure ne started out with definite
cle,V."
Had Livingstone left the country, as he
could have easily done, he would have been
safe. but his weakness for fine horse flesh
proved his ruin. He kept the team he had
driven away from the bank and started for
the West with it. Elder found the dealer
who sold the horses to Livingstone, got a
minute description of them, and traced
them through Buffalo and other cities to
Chicago. He learned that the man who
owned the team had purchased other fine
stock at various places, explaining chat he
was going to run stock farm. AT Chicago
the trail was lost for Ine, but Elder
argued that man who had many horses
would need saddles, brides and harnesses,
and so he made ,atient inquiries among the
large harness h ,uses of Chicago. At last
he found out tl,at some harness had been
shipped to a gentleman VIII had purchased
a large farm about forty miles from the
city. Taking two or three friends with
him the detective paid a visit to the farm,
to admire the fancy stock owned
BY the wealthy gentleman. Approaching
John Livingstone, standing on the steps,
and stepping up to him he said: "Good
Mr.. Livingstone" The forger
turned pale and was bewildered for mo-
ment, but quickly recovered his natural
coolness and denied his identity. "How did
you leave every body in New Yorka"
blandly inquired Elder.
"'New York, sir? I never was there in
my life. I don't know the place."
SWELL" rejoined Elder, "you'n have a
fine chance to get acquainted there when
you 60 back with me,'' and, slipping the
handouts upon Livingstone's wrists, he in |
formed him that he was under arrest for
forgery.
There was danger that lawyers would
make trouble and delay, to say nothing OF
the expense of q legal fight, and Elder de-
cided to get out of Illinois with his prisoner
as speedily as possible. Livingstone's love
of good horses aided the officer. Elder